Invincible India

The Merchant and his Iron 

The article that I analyzed for the Fictional Text Analysis is a story called “The Merchant and his Iron”. It is a tale of how important trust is among friends. In this story, the characters weren’t given real names, but were called “Merchant”, “Friend” or “Son of Friend”. From the clues provided, it’s very likely to take place somewhere where sparrows live as well as rats. It is also very likely that the environment has iron ore, because the Merchant had 200 tons of iron (which he then trusted to his friend to take care of). Apart from that, there are no clues on where the story is set. Language-wise, there were little hints: The characters communicated in formal dialog, showing respect to each other. The everyday lifestyle was poorly described, it just states that family and sons were important and that the father would easily let the son out of the house during daytime. The story started out with the Merchant going on a journey, the reason was unclear. This could hint that it isn’t rare for people to go on journeys for whatever reasons. Money was important in this situation, as well as in many other tales. The friend of the merchant was probably not too wealthy, seeing that he sold the merchant’s iron to pay his debts. Just like many other places, this could show that there was a wide difference between the wealth of people – from people who own 200 tons of iron to people who would steal to cover their debts. The tale taught a lesson of trust-value, of how one should be careful of who to trust with possession.

-Asuka Heltmann

Teasing the Almighty

I will be exploring the culture and religion of India from the short story “teasing the almighty” retold by Chong Kum Fatt, an Indian folk tale. The story has many hints and gestures about religion, people, jobs, and surroundings.
First of all, about the daily life of the main character, the woodcutter, I was able to pick up that he tends animals such as buffalos, goats, and chickens, and obviously that he is a woodcutter. From these facts we can assume that he is in the lower class, since he has to do physical labor for a living. Also, it mentions that the woodcutter lives near the jungle, and since most high class people live in cities, which tend not to be next to a jungle, we know that the community he comes from is poor or rural, because of the location. When he finishes cutting wood, it says that he has cut enough for the day, meaning that there’d be problems if he couldn’t get the day’s work done. Probably meaning that he wouldn’t have enough money or pay. Another part that justifies his class is when he begs Allah for help, he offers buffalos, goats, chickens, and eggs. From that, we see that those are the most he can offer, and cannot offer money or anything expensive.
The religion of the country is Hindu and Islam as we know, and in this story, the woodcutter is Muslim. When the woodcutter foolishly trapped himself on the tree, he calls to Allah for help in getting down. Since the Islam god was the only god mentioned, we can tell that the woodcutter only believed in Allah and not the Hindu gods. Also the method of prayers he used to get himself down was bribery or fair trade, which tells us a little about their culture. Considering the amount of bribery he had announced to Allah we can assume that, that is the way the Indians at the time got what they wanted, and the way they lived.
After the problem was resolved, the woodcutter decided to turn back on his promise and laughed at Allah for not being careful about the terms of their trade. Since he did not receive any punishment for this, we see that the Indians (Muslims) do not believe in Karma, and that the woodcutter didn’t feel any gratitude towards his god. From this story, one is to assume that the Indians are unmoral, cunning, and dishonest. Since the woodcutter had been the successful one in the end, we see that the Indians do not find being dishonest to be a wrong way to live. We may even go as far as saying that they are much like Machiavelli whose famous quote is “the end justifies its means”.
The climate, although not directly described must be cold because generally woodcutters cut wood so that they can sell firewood. In only cold temperatures would someone need firewood, and since the story made it seem like cutting enough wood would make the day’s income, we can tell that it is a pretty stable market. Although it must be cold it wasn’t freezing and it probably isn’t winter since there was a jungle in the neighborhood as described. The animals that the woodcutter owned also fit into the description of India, therefore we have proof that the story is from India.
This story was a traditional folk tale that has been past on for many centuries, not as a moral but for amusement and laughter.

-Haruka Fukukawa

The folk tale that I read was about a man, a jackal, and a tiger, it takes place in India. This story was called The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal, and was retold by a man named Joseph Jacobs, so the exact date of which it was made is unknown. The genre of the folk tale is trickery. The Jackal tricks the tiger into the cage, and shuts the door in order to save the man’s life. Based on the text, this could have taken place in a rural area. “Then the Brahman, sad at heart, went further afield till he saw a buffalo turning a well-wheel; but he fared no better from it…” You do not normally find a buffalo turning a well-wheel in a city, or even the suburbs of a city. People at this time in history, or part of the world really are not grateful for what the environment gives them. “…the pipal tree replied coldly, “What have you to complain about? Don’t I give shade and shelter to every one who passes by, and don’t they in return tear down my branches to feed their cattle? Don’t whimper–be a man!” People do not treat plants like they should, so the pipal tree would not help the man when he was in need. Here is another example. “…he saw a buffalo turning a well-wheel; but he fared no better from it, for it answered, “You are a fool to expect gratitude! Look at me! Whilst I gave milk they fed me on cotton-seed and oil-cake, but now I am dry they yoke me here, and give me refuse as fodder!” Not only do people treat plants badly, but they also treat animals like they were nothing. Due to the clues within the text, they must be in a tropical, jungle like environment. “Once upon a time, a tiger was caught in a trap. He tried in vain to get out through the bars, and rolled and bit with rage and grief when he failed.” Tigers in India do not live in the snow, or in cities, they only live in jungle like areas. The form of language that they use in the story is a bit old. “Give me five minutes, my lord!” he pleaded, “in order that I may explain matters to the jackal here, who is somewhat slow in his wits.” People today never speak like this unless they are in a play or something about theater. The jackal speaks like he wasn’t educated at all, sort of like someone in the southern United States. “Why, what’s the matter, Mr. Brahman? You look as miserable as a fish out of water!” Some of the animals in the jungle, such as the jackal do not know the correct way to speak. One part of the text that stuck out to me was that the man was walking. “By chance a poor Brahman came by. “Let me out of this cage, oh pious one!” cried the tiger.” Wealthy people usually do not walk, so either he lives in a time where the wealthy walk with the poor, or he is a poor rich man that cannot buy a carriage. Instead of reading pages and pages of internet sites to find information about a country, you could just read a few folk tales about a country. Folk tales can really tell you more about a countries culture, climate, or daily life within that country.

-Kristofer Merideth

aaaThe article that I used for this analysis was posted on Monday, May 5th 2008. It was the same day that I found this article, therefore its significance is its recentness. It has little hindsight, only as a summary of the food scarcity in India, but apart from that little to none hindsight. The article is an average online news article on the Reuters website. It was written by Jonathan Leff and Mayank Bhardwaj, working for the Reuters website. Neither of the journalists have written about their personal views, though there are some direct quotes and opinions of economists. The combination of the authors is interesting, because one of them sounds like an Indian, the other more like a Westerner. One can’t really say whether they wrote the article from inside or from outside o the country. The authors have written this article for money, as well as to inform curious, interested adults or people in the food business like economists and farmers. Throughout the article, both writers use no emotions to influence the audience to a certain perspective. It has no bias and sets the audience on the positive side, even though mentioning negatives.
aaaaaaaaaa Asuka Heltmann

http://in.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idINIndia-33413220080505

Is India the New China?

The news article that I analyzed is called “Is India the New China?”. The man who wrote this article was a professor from Cornell University, his name is Kaushik Basu. Mr. Basu lives in the United States, but he is originally from India. It could be bad that he wrote the article because, he is Indian, and the article is consulting whether India is going to surpass China as an industrialized nation, so he may write it in a perspective that India is defiantly going to succeed. People who are in business, interested in foreign affairs and economics would most likely to read this article, as well as fairly well educated people. Mr. Kaushik wrote this article to inform people about how fast India is becoming more and more powerful. An interesting thing about this article, even though he is Indian, he isn’t being persuasive or objective, he is just giving you facts about both sides of the problem. Due to his position on this subject, he doesn’t have any emotions about the topic. “China, being ahead of the pack, will probably escape this trap. India will certainly feel the heat. There can be political turmoil, and both China and India are at risk.” Kaushik Basu posted this article on BBC on November 2, 2007. The importance of this date is that Mr. Kaushik has a bit of hind sight, since some of the statements were based on calculations that were done a few years ago, and have recently proven to be true.

Kris Meredith

THE POTATO MAKES A COMEBACK is a news article published this year 2008, written by Terry Wade who is a journalist of the Herald Tribune. Terry Wade, the author of the article has written this proposal of idea from an outsider’s point of view. Since he didn’t collect the information himself in India, he had probably not thought of the conveniences and reactions of the people in India, and pushed the idea into the ideal plan. He did not consider deeply about how the Indians would take this suggestion, or how they would feel when the suggestion is given to switch their main and most major dish to potatoes. This article was written for the people that are connected to the government, a researcher, or some position mighty enough to influence the food production of a country. Although that would be the main intent, the article is also addressing intellectuals and aware adults as part of their audience too. The aim of the article is to suggest a solution to the world food scarcity crisis, and to educate those who have not considered the problem seriously before. The article is trying to persuade countries like India whose diet focuses on rice and wheat to convert to potatoes as their source of carbohydrates and grains. Also, the article was written so that even if the potato solution is not considered or approved, the readers would get an inspiration of other solutions to this problem. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to suggest the potato idea, or to give inspiration to lead to future solutions. The writer is trying to objective by only stating facts and not opinion, but is also being subjective by listing facts on the positive aspects of the plan, and none of the negative. “…the United Nations named 2008 the International Year of the Potato, calling the vegetable “a hidden treasure.”.” “Potatoes come in about 5,000 types. With colors ranging from alabaster-white to bright yellow and …potatoes offer inventive chefs a chance to create new, eye-catching plates.” “”They taste great,” said Juan Carlos Mescco, 17” “Potatoes are a great source of complex carbohydrates, which release their energy slowly, and – so long as they are not smothered with butter – have only five percent of the fat content of wheat. They also have one-fourth of the calories…” Most, if not all of the facts that are said are boasts to the potato solution, or defense to any doubt the reader may have. The author Terry Wade is expressing his opinion and beliefs, trying to persuade the readers to match his thinking by giving the one-sided facts, but he never directly states his opinion. Also, since the article was written only a few months ago, and food scarcity is a problem that is occurring now, he probably still has the same beliefs and has not taken into consideration the side effects of the solution when writing the article. Therefore, the article was probably mixed with beliefs and views of the situation than rather analyzing the whole scenario carefully.

Haruka Fukukawa

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/16/business/potato.php